If you’re like many small business owners, you may believe that hiring a professional content writer to create the content for your Web, blog, e-news, or any other advertising pieces you’ll be using is an unnecessary expense. Money’s tight, you have to cut expenses as much as you can, and unsurprisingly, many businesses are braving the great frontier of the Web without so much as a proofreader on staff, opting to take care of all content writing in house. It saves money, to be sure – but is it really the best choice for your business?
5 Reasons You Need a Content Writer
I know why you’re reading this blog. Dream with me for a minute. ? Imagine a near-distant future where we’re all gathering together freely once more. ? You and I are attending the year’s biggest content marketing conference. Before we head to the event center for talks, presentations, and meet-and-greets, we agree to meet up at that quaint little coffee shop on the corner near our hotels. We sit at a table by a window looking out onto a sunny city street. Bright-eyed, early shoppers pass laden with bags, and businesspeople in suits and blazers hurry by on their way to their first morning meetings. We sip our coffees and chat idly about the upcoming events of the day. We even indulge in a little gossip. After my last sip of espresso, I ask, “So, how is your company’s blog doing?” You reply with a pained sigh, and lifelessly mutter: “It could be doing so much better.” I lean in and give you my full attention while you lay out a laundry list of problems: You can’t keep up with the consistent blogging schedule you need to get anywhere. You’re hyper-focused on quantity and obsessed with pushing out content just to get it out there. Ergo, much of your content is just okay, while most of it is downright rushed and bad. You haven’t even thought about SEO. Writing isn’t your forte, nor is it the specialty of anyone else on your team, so you struggle mightily when it comes time to create content. Your main competitor, on the other hand, has an incredible blog and is jumping ahead of you by leaps and bounds with the audience they’re drawing in. And the list goes on. You sit back in your chair, rubbing your temples. Just thinking about the situation gives you a headache. You know what I’m going to say. I say it anyway. “You need a content writer.” You Need a Content Writer: 5 Reasons to Invest in Your Content Even though this is an imaginary situation, the point still stands. If you’re like most small brands, some or all of this is ringing true. In a survey on the state of content writing in 2020, Mantis Research and Typeset found most small business owners, marketers, and communications professionals experience a disconnect between knowing what successful writing looks like and actually achieving it. 76% say they know what successful writing looks like, but only 45% think their content is extremely/very effective. Nearly half of all business communicators struggle to understand what their audience wants to read. Those with only moderate success with content writing struggle with most aspects of the process: writing and publishing consistently, maintaining quality over time, writing headlines, writing for SEO, writing concisely, getting the words to flow, and meeting deadlines. [bctt tweet=”Most small business owners & marketers experience a disconnect between knowing what successful writing looks like and actually achieving it. How do you close the gap? ➡⬅ Get yourself a content writer ?” username=”ExpWriters”] As you can see, you’re not alone in your struggles. But there IS a solution. You need a content writer, and I’m here to tell you why. (Imagine me giving you this advice over that same cup of coffee from our hypothetical friendly chat. ☕) 1. You Don’t Have Time I talk to business owners and even marketing specialists every day who respond to my question about their web content the same way you did. Sometimes, I just want to reach through the phone, shake them, and ask “Why do you think you’re not doing better?! It’s because you don’t have time!” I want to, but I don’t. At any rate, the reason you can’t keep up with a busy writing schedule is simple: You don’t have time. You’re too busy actually running your business. Thankfully, the solution is pretty simple, too. Hire a content writer. Not only do we have the time to develop your content for you (because this is our job and what we spend our days doing), but we do this all the time, so we can make it happen more quickly than you can. You don’t have the workflow down. We do. 2. Content Writing Is More Than Writing When you hire a content writer, you’re not getting someone who will write generic content that may or may not apply to your business. You’re hiring a team member who will take an interest in your business and will be eager to learn how you work, who your audience is, and where your big successes and failures are now. Once we have all the information we need, we’re going to be doing more than writing – we’re going to be communicating with your audience on a level you’d never have time to maintain. Not only that, but content writers are experienced with writing for SEO — including keyword and topic research — as well as editing, writing for social media and other content formats, and more. Content writing means we have to be good at a little of everything – and that’s good for you. Want to learn to master content writing, yourself? Start here ? Check out the Unlearn Essay Writing course. 3. A Good Content Writer Brings a New Perspective A common mistake of CEOs and business owners who also do their own marketing and advertising? They’re just too close to their own products. They can’t see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Your content writer, on the other hand, is coming to the table with no biases and a fresh perspective. They’ll look at your product with zero prior knowledge of its existence, in many cases. A content writer who’s worth his or her salt will take an interest in your business and will work tirelessly to understand it while maintaining their clear-eyed objectivity. It’s this objective stance that helps them write creative and innovative content that doesn’t rehash the same old tired clichés plaguing your industry. That’s our job. We … Read more
